2000 AD in Stages

[sheridan]

even if he did rip off a scene from Die Hard.

And The Shining, if memory serves. Morrison at least had the decency to generally rob from obscure-ish and eclectic sources... barring some some shameless thievery from Claremont-era X-Men in Zenith, which at least had the rationale of being theme-appropriate homage.

I was looking forward to Silo before it came out.  Only read it the once, so far.  The Die Hard scene struck me too.


Regarding the X-Men - other than being generic superhuman stuff, what got stolen?  Not being a casual super-comics reader myself...

[sheridan]

Perhaps riding the wave of talent that came before him? At any rate, he's clearly become very successful. I find it difficult to hold it against him that he cut his teeth on Tooth: especially when he's self-disparaging.

That makes sense.  To the usual USA comic editor 2000AD is that comic from Britain where Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, Brian Bolland, Simon Bisley, Alan Davis, etc came from - I wouldn't imagine many have read the actual comic itself.  So if Millar turns up saying he's got a few runs of stories for the same comic that would carry some weight (without the editors in question actually looking at the rubbish he wrote themselves).

[Jim_Campbell]

Regarding the X-Men - other than being generic superhuman stuff, what got stolen?  Not being a casual super-comics reader myself...

Without grabbing the reprints and checking, I can't cite chapter and verse (although I distinctly recall one scene in Zenith Bk2 that's an absolute steal from the Claremont/Byrne Proteus story) but I remember Morrison explicitly fessing up to it in (I think) one of his regular columns in Speakeasy, about a million years ago.

[sheridan]

Regarding the X-Men - other than being generic superhuman stuff, what got stolen?  Not being a casual super-comics reader myself...

Without grabbing the reprints and checking, I can't cite chapter and verse (although I distinctly recall one scene in Zenith Bk2 that's an absolute steal from the Claremont/Byrne Proteus story) but I remember Morrison explicitly fessing up to it in (I think) one of his regular columns in Speakeasy, about a million years ago.

Wow.  Speakeasy.  There's a name I haven't heard for a long time.  A long *you get the picture*

[Funt Solo]

Megazine: Vol. 2.3 (Childhood's End) (2.27-2.36)

The megazine of this era struggles with consistency, firing off a barrage of thirteen hit 'n' miss thrills over a ten-issue sequence. But there's gold in them thar hills...




Judge Dredd
Probably the most memorable thing about the Jigsaw Murders is the cover of issue 27, which came with a free jigsaw version. Entirely meta-tastic. Ladonna Fever was a bit of a "Dredd's Future Shocks" mash-up featuring a Madonna homage. The comedy Hottie House Siege is probably the most memorable from this era and is followed up by The Al Capone Story, Bagging The Bagwan, Slick Dickens - Dressed To Kill and Revenge Of The Egghead.
You have permission to get excited again (in a long-form aspect), as in the next stage we get the return of Mechanismo...


Judge Hershey: A Game of Dolls
A disturbing tale of a serial killer preying on costumed prostitutes in a low rent area of the city with a sparse Judge force.
After a brief stint teaming up with Steel (see below) Hershey returns in the next stage...


Harke & Burr: Antique & Curious *NEW THRILL*
Shoe-horned into the Dreddverse, this is about a couple of antique dealers. They seem to be living in Victorian London (given the Cockney accents, horse and carts, gas street lamps and so on), except the blurb says it's a township in The Cursed Earth. Lovejoy meets Dickens (meets Mad Max 3).
More shenanigans from this pair in the next stage...


Anderson, Psi-Division: Childhood's End
Kevin Walker paints Anderson & Orlock's trip to Mars. There's a disaster movie sense about the gang who go in to investigate a strange alien artefact (latterly reminiscent of set-ups like Congo or Prometheus) but aren't really equipped to deal with what they find. Orlok's never been as good since.   
Anderson returns in Meg 2.50, but if the series wanted to go out on a high it could've just ended here. Send your rebuttals to ... someone else.


Missionary Man *NEW THRILL*
Gordon Rennie's opening salvo of Salvation At The Last Chance Saloon and A Town Called Intolerance were astounding partly because of the content (a living, breathing Cursed Earth setting borrowing heavily from Westerns) but also in no small part due to the art design from Frank Quitely.
There's lots more Missionary Man to come but in fits and starts and all the artists have a go, which can't help but feel a bit like Picasso couldn't make it.


Calhab Justice: Dounreay
Less hoots mon than the previous pile o'neeps an' tatties: in this wan MacBrayne taks oot a terrorist plot agin ra Dounreay power station, no?
Help ma boab - there's mair Oor Dredd next stage...


Brit-Cit Brute *NEW THRILL*
Judge Newt of the SAS dresses like a superhero and strikes poses all over the place and shouts at everyone: like a dystopian Spongebob Squarepants.
Barges its way into a follow-up in '94...


Armitage: Flashback II
An odd sequence in which Armitage plays Snake Plissken, and he has to destroy an evil metal version of the fantasy angel version of Sam Lowry from Brasil.
Returns late in '94...


Hershey & Steel: Degenomancer *NEW THRILL*
Doc Ock's tentacles are real as Hershey-U-Like visits Brit-Cit and teams up with Rookie Judge Treasure Steel.
Tis a one and done pairing.


Chopper: Dead Man's Twist *SET AFTER PAMELA EWING'S DREAM*
Surfing through nightmare canyon to prove himself to ... himself, again.
Zombie Chopper next shows his grisly visage in the Judge Dredd Poster Prog #4, before surfin' back over to the prog in '95 for Supersmurf 13...

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References:
- Barney
- The 2000 AD ABC

[Funt Solo]

Oops: middle cover image is supposed to be from 2.29, not 2.39.

[DrJomster]

I haven't read anything from this period, so this is fascinating reading as always. Tips hat!

[davidbishop]

Yeah, those issues of the Meg were quite bitsy. Glimpses of the treats to come, but nothing really to bind it all together aside from the Anderson. Meg 2.37 introduces a very strong run, and 2.50 sees another surge IMHO. Intrigued to see your assessment!

[TordelBack]

Mmmm, Childhood's End is an interesting one. Despite it being the type of setup I hate (alien origins for humanity), and the whole space exploration thing rather at odds with the kooky galactic adventures we've already seen in the Dreddverse, I still really like this.  Walker's epic art is amazing (even Manderson herself), the character stuff is good and it all works really well.

Other than that, the Armitage flashback stories and the continuing run of fantastic covers there isn't a lot I enjoyed in this period.

[Funt Solo]

2000 AD Stage #29: Drums in the Deep
(Progs 852-872, 1993-94)

You know that bit in LOTR where they're sitting in the Mines of Moria reading the Book of Mazarbul:

"...we cannot get out. The end comes soon. We hear drums, drums in the deep. They are coming."

At this point I'd say the comic was still up and swinging punches, but signs of fatigue were showing. A lot of new thrills are tried, but few are landing well. There's a still a problem with re-hashing old characters or even just series titles but without the form or chutzpah of the originals.

It's far from being a terrible comic: there's great art and interesting themes. But, compared with earlier years, the thrill-thread that we follow through the comic is thinner




Judge Dredd
The main issue with the Dredd of this era in the prog is that it's being written by folk (Morrison & Millar) who, by their own (later) admission, don't know well or enjoy the milieu. (We can exempt John Smith, who, in this section, provides us with the 3-prog Roadkill: although it's a bit on the obnoxious side.)

Morrison: "I was aware of Judge Dredd but it just seemed like a load of old toss". Quite why anyone thought it was a good idea to give their signature strip to people who regarded it as pish is ... a question. I suppose part of the answer must be the nurturing of talent.

Some of the results of that decision are the final two episodes of Inferno (nonsensical and perverted), then War Games (some foreshadowing that I don't remember paying off), Judge Tyrannosaur (does what it says on the tin), Book Of The Dead (well-rendered Egyptian-set thrill about a death cult - featuring conveyer belts), I Hate Christmas (Ezquerra!), Frankenstein Division (Sov Cyborg monster that can't be stopped gets stopped by Dredd's fists) & Crime Prevention (sort of Minority Report in four pages).

In the next stage five different writers try their hands at Dredd...


Mean Arena *NEW THRILL*
So, The Mean Arena ended in prog 282, and was good, then became less good over its run. This is not that. This is more like Gladiators (the tele show) crossed with that spikey platform from Flash Gordon, but not as exciting as either of them (together or alone).
Tis one and done.


Tyranny Rex: Deux Ex Machina, part 1
Tyranny Rex is a nun seeking redemption, but she's a nun with attitude. When the cousins of the baddies from Firekind show up, she's all that stands between the congregation and gruesome annihilation.
Part 2 next stage...


Sam-Slade: Robo-Hunter(*) - Winnegan's Fake [*REBOOT of a REBOOT]
Peter Hogan comes on board as writer to replace Mark Millar, and suddenly Hoagy and Stogie are back in the frame. The art design gets a Rian Hughes makeover and now looks like we've landed with The Jetsons. So: not as aggressively offensive as the first reboot, but still not feeling much like the original.
It's back to Millar's version in the next phase, so good luck with any sort of continuity for the character...


Slaine: Demon Killer
The time-traveling nature of Slaine's world has been there really from the first episode where he fights a dinosaur. The Time Tunnel aspect of his personal adventures was first brought to the fore in the 1985 Annual's Battle of Clontarf, which is retold in the first episode here to set the scene.

With Slaine's reign as high king over, he is to be sacrificed: but Danu has other ideas and instead sends him on the first of the Quantum Salmon Leap adventures that make up this stage of the wider saga. First up, then, and gloriously depicted by Glenn Fabry, we visit Roman Britain to tackle Elfric (again). 

After a rather sudden conclusion, this returns in prog 889...


Strontium Dogs: The Darkest Star
Feral and the Gronk (who's now a hard-drinking Rambo-type) decide to seek revenge against the Lyrans who murdered Johnny Alpha. Great art from Nigel Dobbyn lifts this above a thinly-stretched road trip. It's a bit like Falconhoof meets Orko.
More Dogs in prog 897...


Timehouse *NEW THRILL*
A collection of folk live in a magical house that can exist in any time and place. [Hello, Survival Geeks!]  The problem is that everything's a bit staid: it's like Indigo Prime through a Tintin lense. Zany things happen (although that's zany like Swap Shop, not zany like Tiswas) but there's no plot.
Returns for second series in prog 919...


Canon Fodder *NEW THRILL*
This has a religious enforcer (the titular Canon Fodder) investigating the double suicide of lovers Holmes and Moriarty, who have killed themselves in order that they can visit heaven and murder God. So, y'know, not a boring story. Art by Weston, and a similar plot structure, make this easily comparable to Killing Time and it's no doubt worth the admission price just for his depiction of God.
A second series with a different writer comes along in prog 980...


Soul Gun Warrior *NEW THRILL*
Serious Marmite based on your love for Shaky Kane. The soul gun uses as bullets the souls of pilots who have to commit suicide. So, the ghost of a US operative fights the ghost of Uri Gagarin, who is sabotaging space shuttles. Rocky IV meets pop art pulp sci-fi.
Soul Gun Assassin targets us in prog 920...


Mother Earth *NEW THRILL*
A weird, eco-warrior, wish fulfilment fantasy in which a heavily-armed time-traveling future human tries to save the planet by murdering corporate CEOs in cruel and inventive ways. For no credible reason, she requires some random civilians to be forced to help her so this is like Scooby Doo meets Captain Planet.
Tis a one and done.


Revere: Book III
In some crazy world of future myth, Revere, the Witch-Boy of London, has leapt to his death but been transported to a spirit world, which eventually leads to some sort of cosmic rapture.
Wow. That was trippy.


Big Dave: Costa Del Chaos
Not realizing this could get any worse, this time it's in colour! Does what it says on the tin, really: Dave goes abroad and is horribly violent. In a sort of rip-off of Harry Enfield's mirror character to Loadsamoney (Buggerallmoney), there's a counter-character by the name of Ballser that's inserted to create a "plot".
The apptly titled "Wotta Lotta Balls" crops up in prog 904...


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References:
- Barney
- The 2000 AD ABC

[TordelBack]

Funt has dredged up strips I never knew existed - there was another Mean Arena? Quaequam blag! It comes as no surprise that I broke my weekly habit early in Stage # 29. As a result I'm interested as to why this stage doesn't start/stop at 860?  Once Slaine and Tyranny Rex ended, and Smith finished up his brief intermission on Dredd, the jig was well and truly up.

[Funt Solo]

I'm mostly just staging by full-five jump-on points, where they're available.

[Funt Solo]

Also, I think the end of this stage might be where Richard Burton stops being Tharg and Alan McKenzie starts. (I'm not sure exactly, mind.)

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It is possible to follow great art through this stage: you can Demon Killer --> Book of the Dead --> Canon Fodder --> Revere. Or you could Tyranny Rex --> The Darkest Star --> Mother Earth, even.

[Colin YNWA]

Also, I think the end of this stage might be where Richard Burton stops being Tharg and Alan McKenzie starts. (I'm not sure exactly, mind.)

What a heady coincidence given today votes - which have just gone up.

Have to say this Phase shows if nothing else there was some wonderful diversity in this period. That  brought both good (I love Soul Gun Warrior, Hogan and Rian Robohunter, Revere and Deux Ex Machina) and bad ... well chunks of the rest and some shocking Dredd - he pistol whipped the indestructible Russian beastie, pistol whipped him!

By heck though this time did help push the Prog into new places.

[Leigh S]

At this point I'd say the comic was still up and swinging punches, but signs of fatigue were showing.

That's pretty generous - I think fatigue was showing when the prog failed to stick the prog 650 upsurge - I forgive them some of the problems before then as Crisis et al roll out and sap away Pat and Carlos and John (S) and Jim (B)... by prog 700 the fatigue is showing for me, and this is three years on and still in decline - well, maybe not all decline, the Robo Hunter is a marked imprvement, if still not quite anything that fits into the clssic continuity.  Can't deny some lovely art though, to be fair